Wood Group has combined with Amec Foster Wheeler to form a new global leader in the delivery of project, engineering and technical services to energy and industrial markets. To find out more about Wood visit our new website at www.woodplc.com

Wood Group has combined with Amec Foster Wheeler to form a new global leader in the delivery of project, engineering and technical services to energy and industrial markets. To find out more about Wood visit our new website at www.woodplc.com

Engineering, design and services for Trans Labrador highway

Labrador is an area rich in natural resources, but the time and expense of moving personnel and equipment along the Trans Labrador Highway – an all weather narrow gravel-surfaced road – has hampered development

"[Amec Foster Wheeler's] level of experience in the asphalt pavement / chip seal industry was a deciding factor in our selection of a consultant to represent the Province of Newfoundland/Labrador during the upgrading of the Trans Labrador Highway."Gary Gosse, P. Eng., Assistant Deputy Minister, Transportation and Works, Newfoundland Labrador

Recognizing the need to provide improved access the Canadian Federal government and Newfoundland & Labrador Provincial government joined forces in a multi-year program to upgrade and surface the entire 550km of the Trans Labrador Highway.

The Province selected two possible options for re-surfacing the road. One was a double layer of chip seal, while the other was a single 50mm layer of hot mix asphalt. The Province stipulated that proven experience in both chip seal and hot mix asphalt were critical in the selection of a consultant.

Based on our strong local presence and depth of experience in pavement design and engineering we were awarded all construction engineering, design, and supervision services related to the production and placement of the asphalt pavement surfaces on the four projects tendered to date.

Lewis O’Toole, Amec Foster Wheeler Technical Lead for the project explains: “Our proven ability was based on extensive past involvement with the British Columbia chip sealing industry as well as chip sealing programs designed and supervised by Senior Materials Engineer John Tenison in the State of New Mexico. In addition, our Center of Excellence asphalt laboratory in Nova Scotia is the only commercial testing facility in Canada certified by AASHTO for the testing of asphalt emulsions which are the binding agent holding the chip seal together. When coupled with our extensive Canada wide experience in the traditional hot mix paving industry, we were clearly the team to beat."

Our success on the Trans Labrador Highway hinged on our ability to openly communicate with our client, a strong local technical presence, our proven ability to complete complex projects on time and on budget in remote environments, and our ability to seamlessly provide the required expertise – regardless of geographic challenges.

Since 2008, 200 km of the highway has been surfaced with asphalt pavement designed and inspected by us, with the remaining 350 km scheduled for completion prior to 2015.